20.1.11

You might have heard that I've been sick. Therefore, I was totally not expecting the wonderful life lesson I got this morning.

While going about our daily routine, I heard clucking and tapping at the deck door. Outside, like no time had passed and no hawks might be plotting a horrible death, were Fancy and Lulu. Just as pretty as you please. I had to reward them with a lid full of oatmeal. Bella and I then laid in the floor and admired them as they fought each other for dominance over the pile.

That's life, isn't it? Just when you think you're down and people start counting you out, you dig deep and find the strength you need to keep going. Your feathers may fall out, you may lose (or gain) weight, and you may need to hide out for awhile.

But in the end, in time, if our hearts are in it, we all strut our stuff again. And just look at Fancy show us how it's done!

I'm not ready for any of my feathers to fall out, but everyone here has been sick too, and there's been plenty of hiding out.There might be something to the raw oatmeal, too. My mother and Jack both eat oats in their yogurt every morning, and they stay unruffled more than the rest of us. :)

I love the simple message here, especially since it's one that I absolutely need right now: "...you dig deep and find the strength you need to keep going." Amen, sister. And I will continue to dig. Thank you.

The lessons we learn and the realizations gifted to us through something as profoundly simple and complex as chickens. Nature has a way of naturally lending so many examples for how we humans could stand to live, no?